Formula One Championship Edition (PS3)

Formula One racing is one of the first titles that we laid eyes on for the Playstation 3. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, specifically the Liverpool Studio, set out to create the most technical Formula One racing simulation possible, giving players the most visually stunning representation of the sport possible. Since most race fans in the United States are NASCAR fans, they had an uphill climb ahead of them. Outside of the United States, millions (580 million by last count) of people worldwide were already F1 fans, and the sport has been gaining momentum in recent years. Formula One generated $4 billion dollars in broadcast and licensing revenues in 2006 alone. The question remained – would this rise in popularity be able to penetrate into the American market? Would this title be the one to break the 50% - 70% average rating by previous titles? Only one way to find out.

For frame of reference, I don’t watch NASCAR. I find it painfully dull and lacking in any level of strategy. On the other hand, I have been known to catch a Formula One weekend or two. I find the sport to be superior to NASCAR as every track is different, and the focus on driver skill is accented by the constant speed and cornering changes. In short, I think it is a bit harder than ‘lean to the left and drive’. It is just my opinion, but I figured I better set my allegiances out front in advance.
Graphics - 90/100

Formula One is about extreme speed, rocket turns, more speed, strategy, and a little more speed. Well, it isn’t enough to make the game look good at a blur, you have to fill out the little details that make it as real as a simulation can be. Formula One handles that nicely. The first thing you’ll notice when you get out on the track is how realistic the car, asphalt, trees, lighting, and backgrounds are. It is hard to believe how good looking the car actually looks, with incredible detail paid to the painstakingly small details present in the body and mechanics of the vehicle. The lighting engine gives a good sheen to reflective surfaces, and the weather effects are beyond what you’ll see in any other racing title.

There is a great deal of attention to sponsorship in the game. DHL, Red Bull, Honda, Mobil, and even Intel get their plugs in on the sides of the car, just as they would be on a real F1 racer. When you have 22 cars on the track, you will find yourself awash in sponsorship. Normally this would be a bad thing, but in this case it adds to the overall realism and immersion of the title.

Speaking of realism, there is a great deal of it when talking about the effects in the game. Heat bloom distortions caress the track and engines of vehicles, thick black streaks of spent rubber tire are left behind as common corner lines are formed. When a car engine takes enough damage, oil-rich white smoke pours from the broken-down vehicle, occasionally obscuring your view. Your driver rattles in his roll cage, hands twisting with the wheel as you make your turns. Your helmet and car panels carry reflections of the sky, other cars, bleachers, and anything else surrounding you as you blur past them at break-neck speed. Speaking of speed, the game has a great motion blur implementation that takes focus from the sides of the race and keeps your eyes trained on the driver in front of you.

If you are not happy with the clutter of gauges, maps, counters, flags, and the like, you have the option to turn them off. You can turn off almost everything that is on your HUD, including your fuel indicator, circuit map, car condition, and the pop-up corner indicator. This is just the first of many ways that Formula One attempts to appeal to the hardcore as well as the new racer.

Unlike fellow Sony title Gran Turismo, Liverpool Studio understands that hitting a wall at 212.5 mph (average top speed for an F1 racer) will cause a great deal of damage to your car. This is very accurately represented on-screen as your panels wrinkle and bend while your tires begin to rattle due to damaged suspension systems. Damage to your car causes severe performance issues, and you’ll be able to see that very plainly. During a replay you can get a better view of the carnage, allowing you to see front wings compress and rip into pieces, sending debris, and often your front tire(s) ripping off the front of the vehicle. You aren’t going to be replacing those parts any time soon, so when it happens (and it will) know that you are out of the race for the weekend.

Formula One runs at a crisp 720p, but all of this eye candy occasionally takes its toll on the engine. During some particularly heavy action, and in an area with light to dark transition, I noticed that the framerate had fallen slightly for a few moments. These moments are few and far between, but they do happen. Other than this little hitch, the graphics engine performs admirably to immerse players in the F1 world.

Sound/Music - 85/100

A Formula One car has a distinct sound to its engine. It also has a distinct sound when it pulls past you. This high pitched whine is accurately represented in the game, giving the Doppler Effect zoom as you drive under overpasses. You can hear your tires gripping the pavement as you roar around a corner. The attention to detail with track sounds only gets better when you add your race team and the commentary.

James Allen from ITV (or at least it sounds like him) handles commentary for the game. He’ll comment on the track conditions and history, weather and how it could affect the race, pole position, and how the overall season standings are shaping up. He’ll occasionally update attendees on the current pole positions. Additionally, you’ll get updates from your team on your position, suggestions on how to improve it, and the condition of your vehicle. You really need to pay attention to what they have to say as they will point out trends for your vehicle performance. If you are taking too much damage on your tires, or if you are low on fuel, your team will probably recommend that you pit on your next opportunity. A blown tire signals the end of your race just as quickly as running out of fuel, so you may want to take their suggestions.

There is some great house/trance music while you navigate the various menus of the game, but there is absolutely no music while you are racing. This is different than more ‘arcade-like’ racers, so don’t expect some licensed track to keep your adrenaline high – you’ll have to rely on having an average speed of 190mph or higher to do that. It would be nice to have at least some soundtrack beyond the high-revving engines of your competitors, but given the hardcore simulation angle of this title it really doesn’t surprise me that Liverpool Studio didn’t give you anything that would distract you from the suggestions of your crew.

The game supports adjustments of volume for the sound effects, menu music volume, commentary, and pit commentary, so you can adjust the game to whatever feedback level you desire.

Controls - 85/100

Controlling a Formula One car as you scream through corners is a lot like watching the guy next to you tromp on the gas to run at top speed to the next red light. Unlike NASCAR, there are many twists and turns involved in navigating a Formula One racetrack. The controls for Formula One couldn’t be more simple. You use R1 to look back, R2 and L2 are used for shifting up or down respectively. Triangle allows you to change between camera placements, with Square and X handling brakes and acceleration. D-Pad left and right allow you to steer in those directions, but you’ll likely use the analog sticks to handle your driving. The left analog controls the steering of your racer while the right analog stick is acceleration and braking. Select notifies your crew that you need to make a pit stop, and the start button pauses the game. This is the default configuration and there are six other pre-set configurations. Most of them allow you to adjust the Live Dynamics (more on that later) on the fly, and configuration F allows you to use the SIXAXIS functions to tilt and turn left and right to control your vehicle. I personally didn’t find the SIXAXIS tilt functions to be as responsive as the analog sticks, so I stuck with the analog controls. We are talking about hardcore though, right?

Formula One also supports three Logitech racing wheels right out of the box – the Logitech Driving Force Pro, the Logitech Driving Force EX, and the Logitech G25 Racing Wheel. There are two configurations for each wheel, giving you a little bit of flexibility without allowing you to remap the buttons directly. I was not able to obtain any of these wheels for the PS3 before review, but it is nice to know that they are supported.

Camera preference in a racer is a big thing for most people. For the hardcore racing crowd, so is the ability to turn off the HUD to fully simulate being there. Formula One allows you to do both. In your display settings you can adjust the camera to 6 pre-set settings including close, far, nose, and cockpit view. You can also lock the camera to prevent it from moving, as well as changing from mph to km/h for your speedometer.

I promised I’d get to Live Dynamics, and here we are. Live dynamics are settings within the game that can be changed while you are racing including level of traction controls, brake bias, and the like. These dynamic controls can be set prior to the race, giving you three presets that you can use during the event. This can give you an edge if you find that you are overcorrecting during a corner, or you find that you are applying the brakes too much and need to adjust the brake pressure down a bit. Since race times can come down to literally hundredths of a second, a small thing like brake pressure can mean the difference between coming in 5th and a podium victory.

I have a few complaints with the controls for Formula One in that they can be utterly confusing for newcomers. There is a wealth of adjustments that you can make that will subtly affect your controls, so new players may find it offputting to have to adjust the camber of the tires, the rear wing, and bias to get their controls the way they want them to be. It isn’t a barrier per se, but it will create a few complications for those who just want to jump in and race.

Gameplay - 160/200

Real life Formula One racing is difficult. In fact, there are only 22 drivers who are qualified in the entire world, each one granted a “Super License” by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) To combat this obstacle, Liverpool Studio has given new drivers “Driving Aids” including steering assistance, braking assistance, stability control (weak, medium, strong, or off), visual aids (virtual racing line {a ‘ghost’ line}, BTA markers {markers that show you where to brake, turn, and speed up to allow you to learn the most effective cornering technique}), spin recovery assistance, anti-lock brakes, and auto or manual gearboxes. Each can be toggled individually, so you can modify the game significantly to fit your racing expertise. You can also toggle the damage controls to keep your car intact as you learn the game. All of this is moot though if you can’t get a contract.

The game starts off quite simply – you chose how your racer will look from 17 head/body combos including 7 female drivers. These drivers are a broad mix of races and cultures so you should be able to find somebody you like. You also select from 23 different helmet looks, as well as selecting your nationality from a list of 19. Once you complete this small task, your racing career looks a lot like Microsoft Outlook. That’s right – you have another email box to manage. Before you can race, you have to prove to one of the real-world teams that you are worth of a racing slot with them. Succeed and you may find yourself as their primary driver. Do poorly and you may be stuck doing test driving for other drivers until your skills improve. I haven’t played a Formula One racing game in quite a while, so for me to put my foot down and pick up a 1st place victory, smashing the track record, you should be able to squeak by just fine. I’ve read a few other reviews (Yea, I’m looking at you Chris Roper of IGN) where the reviewer couldn’t hack it – don’t blame the game because you suck.

Once you manage to complete your selected team’s trial they will make you an offer via email (they like to keep it informal). The offer will usually be for an entire season, but will come with some expectations. Often they have a rival racer that they’d like you to completely dominate, as well as expectations of minimum GP and qualifying position. With contract in hand, you can read the news to see what the media has to say about the current state of the race circuit, as well as which manufacturers are leading the charge (hint: it is usually Ferrari). You can also check the calendar to see when test sessions, qualification races, and of course the Grand Prix occur. You can use time acceleration to reach the next event. Enough about the preparations though, let’s talk about Grand Prix racing.

There are 18 real-world racetracks spanning 5 continents to race on, the first of which is in the Kingdom of Bahrain, a small island desert country in the Persian Gulf. The Grand Prix is a three stage event – two knockout races and the big race itself. After a 21 second load sequence (complete with racing tips to read for the duration), you’ll get your chance behind the wheel. On Friday, you’ll spend the bulk of your time running a practice run and then tuning the vehicle. The vehicle tuning portion of the game is crucial to victory and requires quite a bit of understanding about car mechanics and physics that affect them. You can tune how much fuel your car is carrying and how many fuel stops you plan to take, as well as when to take them. You can determine the type of tire to be used, the tire compound, the traction controls, and three presets you can change mid-race. Handling balance allows you to tune the rear and front wing settings as well as the suspension to get rid of over or understeering. You can tune the toe and camber as well as ride height, anti-roll, rebound, and bump dampening, all down to the Newton meter per second. Adjusting the speed controls allows you to change the downforce (the delicate balance between grip and speed) as well as the manual or automatic gearbox. What, not enough? You can tune each gear individually to change the balance between acceleration and top speed. Speed is one thing, but you also have to be able to stop – you can tune the brake bias as well as turning anti-lock functions on or off. Once you’ve tuned this wealth of options you can hit the track to test them out. You are allowed a certain amount of time on the track alone, and it is more than enough to get the settings right for your race and get a good look at the track before you have to qualify on it.

The next day is very similar to the first, except that you will be spending your time practicing again to set up for the qualifying laps. You will put your tires to the pavement to set your qualifying lap speed, or a cumulative average over multiple laps to determine your pole position for the race the next day. When Sunday hits it’ll be time to race against the very best racers in the world, including the top Formula One racer Michael Schumacher. You can skip these qualification rounds if you are inclined but it will hurt you pretty badly – you’ll start in pole position #22. The best I could manage to do when starting in this position was 8th place. If you manage to finish the race in 3rd place or less you will get a nice little animation of your celebration on the podium blocks.

My first Grand Prix race ended quickly and prematurely with the loss of my front wing and front left tire. A vicious collision on a hairpin turn all but destroyed the front end of my car, but it did end my race immediately. You have to remember that these cars are build for speed and precision, and as such do not sustain damage well.

You will eventually have to pit your vehicle. Eventually your tire wear will begin to cause handling issues, you’ll run low on fuel, or you’ll need to repair a damaged component. Hitting select will notify your team to stand by for your approach. Following Formula One guidelines you’ll make the brisk 50mph entry into the pits and roll up to your team. As soon as your pit event starts you’ll be presented with a high speed minigame. Immediately you’ll see little triangles, squares, circles, R1, R2, L1, L2 icons popping up over your individual team members. Hitting the buttons quickly will net you a rapid pit time, giving a bit of interactivity where none usually exists.

If living the life for five seasons isn’t your idea of fun, you can skip the career to run a quick single race using established racers on their own team, time trials to improve your lap times, run a single Grand Prix weekend, or enter the World Championship – a full single season of Formula One racing.

As I mentioned (and as the length of this section demonstrates), Formula One is complicated. There are a million and one things that you can modify that will drastically change the game. Many players seeing the wealth of options may be paralyzed by the sheer magnitude of choice. If you are a fan of Gran Turismo you may find a great racing title to keep you busy until Polyphony finishes up the next title. If you are not a fan of Gran Turismo, you may find the title too complicated for a casual racer. Try out the demo in the Playstation Store before you put your cash on the table.

Value / Replay Value - 80/100

The value of this game as a simulator is hard to state. If you are looking for the most realistic and only officially licensed Formula One racing title, then you don’t have any reason to look further – this is your title. Beyond the incredible campaign and Championship modes you have two methods of multiplayer to juggle. You can play via LAN with 8 players, or you can play online with up to 11 other players. Both setups can be modified with different weather conditions, and you can turn the flag rules on or off. There were a few members of the press to race against, but I could never get more than three or four human racers in the mix. Thankfully you can backfill the rest of the race with AI players, so it doesn’t feel hollow. It will be nice to see how the game performs when 12 players are running the same race.

To become a great racer you’ll have to learn the tips and tricks of the trade. To aid in that journey there is an extensive tutorial system that goes over the Formula One season, various teams and drivers, circuits, race day, racing strategies, flags and rules, taking corners, effective overtaking, and far more. Unique to this title is an A-Z Glossary of racing terms and what they mean. An example might be Apex – this is the inside center point of a corner, which the driver should aim for when taking a corner.

Once you’ve finished racing, you can also access F1TV. F1TV allows you to watch replays of race sections or watch an entire race. You can adjust the camera distance, commentary, weather, and viewing angles of the race to allow you to see the Grand Prix from any angle. It would have been cool if you could upload great races or ghost lines for other players, but sadly this feature is decidedly missing, despite early E3 rumors regarding its inclusion.

The only really rough part I can see with the value of this game is that most people will be very daunted the second they see the tuning options. Having a thorough knowledge of physics and its effect on a vehicle is almost a necessity to be effective in tuning it. It may cause many players to skip this title, making the multiplayer landscape a bit barren.

Concluding Thoughts
The 2007 season opens on March 18th, and this isn’t a bad way to get ready for it. The game is a triumph for simulation fans, and is moderately accessible to new players. If you are a racing fan, you owe it to yourself to pull the demo and give the game a try – you may find that flying around tracks that aren’t perfectly shaped ovals is more your speed…so to speak.